Premier League: 10 things to look out for this weekend

01-Dec-2017 07:59:56 | The Guardian

Allardyce and Pardew get started at new clubs, Spurs go to Watford needing an upturn in form and will Nathan Redmond respond to Guardiola’s pep talk?

Olivier Giroud has had to be patient this season. Although he has been a regular starter in the Europa League, the man who was once Arsenal’s leading striker has not started a game in the Premier League this season. Alexandre Lacazette has overtaken his fellow Frenchman since his arrival from Lyon, giving Arsenal’s attack greater unpredictability with his elusive, speedy movement, and the 26-year-old scored his seventh goal of the season in the 5-0 win over Huddersfield. Lacazette then went off with a groin injury at half-time and his enforced absence against Manchester United on Saturday will force Arsène Wenger to make adjustments up front. Giroud, who scored twice as a substitute against Huddersfield, will hope that his chance has arrived. He would be the obvious choice. Yet Arsenal will not be as mobile if Wenger brings in Giroud. If their performance in the win over Tottenham Hotspur is anything to go by, they will look to implement a high pressing game out of possession. Danny Welbeck does not look ready to start such a big game, so it could be Alex Iwobi who steps off the bench, with Alexis Sànchez taking Lacazette’s role in the middle. Jacob Steinberg